Better Red Than Dead
by The.Dragon.Singer
Summary: Riley didn't suspect anything when her "cousin" showed up just hours after buying her Dodge Challenger. Of course, she didn't realize she would get thrown into a giant alien robot war either...Slight AU.


Sam was woken quite rudely by a glass of freezing water being dumped on his head. The teen bolted up-right with a girly scream, to face the slender teen seated on his rolling desk chair.

"_Riley_." He growled, shivering in his t-shirt and boxers.

Riley laughed, her amused grey eyes twinkling.

"Mornin', Sleeping Beauty." She cooed, ducking under a poorly thrown pillow.

"Get out!" Sam moaned, collapsing into his soaked pillow.

"You missed." Riley cackled, yanking his quilt off before running out of his room. The end of her dark chocolate ponytail whipping around his door frame just as a second pillow collided with the door.

"Morning, Aunt Judy!" Riley laughed as she greeted Sam's mother, who was standing over the stove with a spatula in hand, making pancakes.

"Morning, Riley." Judy smiled, piling three pancakes onto a plate and drowning them in strawberry syrup. "How are you today?"

"I'm super excited. My auto-mechanic's teacher, Johns, is letting me leave early to buy my car as long as I bring it in for him to see."

"That's the class you're teacher's assistant for, right?" Judy hummed, sipping her coffee while she waited for the next batch of pancakes. Riley nodded. "I'm so glad that your parents put away so much money before they...passed away. At least your car won't be some hunk-of-junk."

"Like Sam's will be? Uncle Ron is a cheap-ass."

"Your first car is _supposed_ to be a piece of junk. That way when you dent it by driving into a light pole, no one will notice." Ron's voice called from the living room, where the morning news was on.

"Speaking from experience?" The brunette teased as Sam finally managed to come downstairs.

"When will you stop throwing ice water on me in the morning!?" The irate teen growled, stabbing a plate of pancakes.

"When you get up before me." Riley polished off her own breakfast, grinning like the Cheshire Cat.

"Which will never happen because you get up at _ungodly_ hours in the morning." Sam grumbled.

"So, never." Riley shrugged, downing her daily glass of OJ. "I do walk seven blocks for a ride to school every morning."

"And you can't take the bus?"

"Buses are for losers." Riley rolled her grey eyes, resting her chin in her palm. Sam, in his awake and no-longer-hungry state, observed her outfit. It was nearly the same as it always was; a ponytail, a pair of jeans (today's were ripped skinny jeans, and a t-shirt. Her t-shirt read '_If Life asks you questions, Google has answers_'. The school hoodie was tied around her waist.

She grinned as Ron appeared, dressed in a button-up top and a pair of khaki pants. The brunette grabbed the backpack with several Pokemon accessories and fandom buttons on it, slinging it over her back. Sam, shoved most of his jam covered pancake into his mouth and grabbed his own bag, a normal black backpack.

Ron grabbed his keys and the group headed towards the green Porsche.

Hope dawned in Sam's eyes as they neared the vehicle.

"Shotgun."

The hope vanished and Riley dropped into the passenger seat.

"Dammit."

* * *

Sam slunk towards the courtyard of the school, backpack in hand. He was moping again, Riley realized as she watched him from their usual tree with Sam's other friend Miles.

Miles rolled his eyes. "I bet he said hi to Mikaylea again."

"Guys," Sam mumbled, dropping beside his friends and digging through his bag for the chocolate pudding he knew was there. "I didn't get the A."

"Oh." Riley lifted an eyebrow, long legs stretched out in front of her. A cardboard container with a chicken burger and fries sat on her lap and a can of Pepsi stood beside her. Miles had a can of Coke Cola beside him and a half-eaten PB&J sandwich in his hand. "That's it."

"That was going to be my third A!" Sam wailed, flailing miserably when he couldn't find his pudding.

"Ah man, dude." Miles pat Sam's shoulder. "Sucks, bro."

"Idiot." Riley snorted, biting a fry in half. "You still have that history report."

"Oh yeah." Sam perked up. "How did you know about that?"

"Because I had the _same_ teacher for the _same_ subject in the _first_ semester. I did my family history on my great-grant-grandfather, Neville Octavian Brewster. He was one of the founders for some secret military base or something. All his stuff has been locked in a storage unit, but we can't unlock any of it cause it all uses the same damn key and we can't find the key." Riley promptly shut her mouth, sinking her teeth into her lunch.

"I can get an A for that. I'll do it on my great-great-grandfather too! Yeah." Sam automatically drifted into la-la-land and left his friends behind. Miles and Riley shrugged, settling for attempting to beat the other's high score on Tap Tap Revenge.

Lunch was over quickly, with Riley the loser because she'd nearly lost her fries. Sam rushed off to his next class with Miles on his heels, while Riley headed for English.

Her English period was spent finishing '_Sweeney Todd'_, and writing a brief paragraph on the movie before the bell rang and Riley was bolting to the auto-mechanic's room. Mr Johns was waiting inside, grinning as usual, while the freshmen filed in. He took attendance and then cleared his throat.

"So, guess who's getting her first car today!?" Johns leaned on his cluttered desk, brown eyes twinkling.

"Riley!"

"And guess who was a present for her!?" Johns pulled out a wrapped shoebox, complete with a stick on mess of silver and red ribbons.

Riley laughed as she took the box and the younger teens crowded around her. The lid was pulled off and Riley snickered, pulling out the pair of fuzzy dice and the little hula dancer.

"Thanks." She shook her head, pushing both into her bag and hauling it over her shoulder. "I'll make sure to bring my car by tomorrow morning."

The class and teacher wished her well as she headed towards town.

* * *

Riley strode into the Dodge garage, keen grey eyes scanning the area for anything that caught her attention. She meandered the outside area, making a full trip around the lot before she came back to the front and stopped.

Finally, something had caught her eye.

It was a Dodge Challenger, bright red with black racing stripes up the hood and cab. A pair of silver horns sat on the hood, and Riley grinned.

She liked this Challenger. The fact it was parked in the used cars area just made the deal that much sweeter.

She rushed inside to sign paperwork, and within twenty minutes she was hurrying outside again towards the shining car. The driver-side door opened easily.

Tossing her backpack into the passenger seat, Riley turned the keys that sat in the ignition, revving out of the lot.

She cranked the radio as she sped back towards the school, gliding into the parking lot as she pulled out her cell.

Ron answered on the third ring. "Hello?"

"Uncle Ron? Don't bother picking up Sam."

"Going for a joyride?"

"Yeah."

The two hung up just as the bell rang, and Riley cranked up the My Chemical Romance song on the radio. Riley revved the engine as students files out of the school, throwing curious looks at the Dodge Challenger.

Sam and Miles stumbled out. Riley pressed her hand to the horn and the two boys looked around. The brunette rolled her eyes, undoing her seatbelt and climbing to seat herself on the window.

"Yo _stupid_!" She yelled and Sam's head snapped around so fast Riley was pretty sure he got whiplash. "Let's go!"

Trent, the resident jock-jerk, whistled as he climbed into his black truck. "Nice car."

Sarcasm laced his tone and Riley sneered. "Nice truck. Compensating for something?"

Mikaylea, Sam's 'dream girl', giggled as she got into the truck, tossing her purse up and flashing her toned legs as she did so. "Are you come to the party on Friday?"

"Is that an invitation?" Riley quirked an eyebrow. Mikaylea nodded. "Sure."

Riley slithered into the car, blinking at the red face in the middle of the steering wheel before leaning over to unlock the passenger side.

"This car is sick." Sam groaned, running his fingers over the seats.

"Keep your greasy fingers off my baby's seats." Riley growled, socking Sam in the arm as she pulled out of the parking lot.

"But the seats are leather!" Sam protested, tucking his hands in his lap.

"I know. What do you think?" Riley grinned, speeding through a yellow light and turning on the next street.

"It's awesome. Way better than whatever car I'll end up getting." He grumbled. "Where are we going?"

"Dairy Queen for celebratory ice cream, and then home."

One ice cream treat and a smooth drive to Sam's later, Riley was tossing her keys onto her table.

She lived seven blocks away from Sam, near a heavily forested area. Her house was pretty, with floor-length windows facing the forest.

The floor was dark hardwood, and the furniture modern. The entire three bedroom house had an open plan with high vaulted ceilings...and it only had one occupant.

Riley's parents, Quinn and Teresa Knight, had died in a car accident on their way home from a late movie when she was twelve. Both had died on impact, leaving behind everything the owned to their little girl. That include the accounts filled with their paychecks, everything in the storage lockers, and the fully-paid-for house.

Her father was an only child, and her mother hadn't spoken to her two older sisters since they graduated. Riley's uncles, Teresa's younger brothers, both lived in New York, where they'd grown up. However, Geoff was 'soul-searching' in Australia, and Lucas was stationed in Iraq. Not that she had much contact with them, besides birthday presents and Christmas presents.

Even those didn't come often, and were often late.

She was pretty sure one of her aunts lived in Britain, and the other in Dallas. However, Riley didn't really care.

Her home phone, which lived on the wall of the kitchen, suddenly rang, startling the teen so much that she smashed her knees into the dining room table, which had been where she had automatically gone to finish her Blizzard.

"Hello?" Riley scowled, rubbing her knees.

"_This the Knight residence?"_ The young masculine voice on the other end asked. He had an accent, but Riley couldn't place it.

"Yeah? Who's asking?" Riley wrenched open the fridge to grab the orange juice inside.

"_Name's Clifton Schreck. I'm your cousin."_ He responded and the OJ almost slipped from her hand. One of her aunts kids. Had to be. _"Mind if I come chill for a while?" _

"Uh, sure?"

"_Great, cause I'm outside."_ Riley stared at the phone blaring the dial tone and then hurried to the door.

When she wrenched it open, a six foot five young man was standing there, hands shoved in his pockets. He looked to be around eighteen, handsome, with bright blue eyes, and a shock of bright red hair than was spiked up at the front. He was dressed in a pair of low-sitting blue jeans, a pair of black skate-shoes, a black tank-top, and red jacket with black sleeves that had obviously been ripped.

His right ear was pierced and a tattoo poked out from his exposed chest. He obviously worked out, if the size of his arm muscles were anything to go by. A duffel bag was slung over one shoulder.

"I know I'm good looking, but take a picture, sweetheart, it'll last longer." He chuckled. Riley flushed.

"Sorry." She stepped out of the way and Clifton strode over to her couch. "I just...didn't know I had a cousin."

"Neither did I. Except, well, I did some stupid family tree for a school project and remembered my parental unit having siblings. I know that Aunt Olivia is a lesbian and never plans on having kids, Uncle Geoff is traveling in Australia and Uncle Lucas is stationed in Iraq. Which left the aunt I'd never met. So I hack- did a little _research_ and found you."

"And why did you come here? To me?" Riley dropped onto the love seat, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Mom was insisting on going on a 'family road-trip' with Dad and my terror of a little brother, Blaine. I didn't want to go, expressed my opinion and was told to find somewhere else to go or I'd _have_ to go road tripping. So, I last-resorted."

"I'm not sure if I should be offended," Riley muttered as Clifton smirked, kicking his feet up on the table. "Or kind of happy."

"I'm okay with either so long as I can crash here for a few weeks." He shrugged, blue eyes scanning the house. Riley felt somewhat violated.

"Sure. I'll take you to the guest room."

"So...Where's my dear aunt and uncle?" Clifton asked casually as they climbed the stairs. Riley stopped and shot a pain-filled glare over her shoulder.

"Dead." She snarled and continued climbing.

"Oh. Sorry." He murmured.

They traversed the upstairs hall in silence, and Riley threw open the door beside her own. It was the one over the garage, and it had a pleasant view of the trees from the balcony that connected her room and the guest room. There was a plastic deck chair shoved near her door, with a beige cushion half hidden by a small tarp.

Her cousin nodded, and dropped onto the bed after letting his bag fall to the floor. He lifted one hand and popped his thumb out. "This is good. Thanks."

"I'll let you sleep. You're probably jet-lagged. If I don't see you before tomorrow, I'll probably have left for school. I've only got a view days left and I'll show you all the super cool," Sarcasm laced her words here. "Places to go."

"Sounds great. I could use a recharge. Have a nice lunar cycle." He muttered, brilliant eyes closing.

"Yeah..." Riley frowned at his odd words. "You too?"

He had to be a hard-core closet gamer.

Riley shook her head and went back downstairs to throw away the remains of her ice cream, check her new car, and downed her abandoned orange juice.

* * *

"Morning." Riley shrieked, tumbling down the last few stairs to land painfully on her ass at Clifton's feet. He laughed before helping her up.

"Hi. What are you doing up so early, Clifton?"

"Cliff. And London is nine-ish hours ahead." Her red headed cousin shrugged, clad today in a beat-up pair of jeans, his sneakers, and a red t-shirt with a pair of silver horns on the chest. "It would around three in the after noon right now."

"Right." She muttered, hauling herself to her feet and shuffling over to the fridge for breakfast.

"Why are you up so early?" Cliff asked, leaning on her counter.

"School."

"Oh. Right. You still have that."

"Uh-huh."

It was rather awkward the first two days with Cliff around. He was exceptionally quiet for a guy as tall and buff has he was, and really smart too. He was really good at math.

However, four days had gone by since he'd arrived and Riley was somewhat used to him now, except that his British accent was really kind of hot, and he kept sneaking up on her.

When Riley came roaring up in her bright red Challenger on Friday afternoon, Cliff was lounging outside on the back lawn, eagle spread.

"Are you okay?" Riley asked, keys jingling in her hand.

He lifted a thumb towards her, not bothering the move otherwise.

She had turned to the door when he spoke. "I'm bored."

Riley was silent, checking the time before she heaved a sigh. "I'm going to a lake party later this evening. A bunch of my classmates are going to be there. You can come. I'm leaving in a few minutes to check out Sam's new car."

"You're the best~!" Cliff was on his feet in seconds, lifting her into a hug. "You've saved me from Death by Boredom!"

"It's your own fault if you had died of boredom. You're the one that came here, stupid. Now, let me to. You're crushing me." Riley rolled her eyes as her cousin deposited her back on the ground. "Geez. Go get a bathing suit. I'm leaving in ten."

"Ma'am, yes, ma'am!" Cliff barreled inside. Eight minutes later, he was sighing on the couch in a pair of red swim trunks, decorated with black flames up the legs. He'd switched his t-shirt out for a black tank top, and a bright purple towel was draped over his shoulder.

"Let's go." Riley rolled her grey eyes at him as she appeared, dressed in an old ACDC shirt and a pair of denim shorts. A pair of flip flops slid onto her feet as she strode out the door. Cliff hurried after her.

This Sam guy, who he knew was her best friend, lived seven blocks away in a nice suburban area. His rodent was barking as they pulled to a stop.

A beat up and faded 1977 Chevrolet Camaro was parked behind Ron's green Porsche. Riley whistled. "Yeah. Just like I thought. Piece of crap."

Cliff snickered, climbing out of her shiny and obviously newer vehicle.

Sam came barreling out of the house, practically leaping onto his best friend. "Isn't it great!? Four thousand dollars!"

"_Yeah_." Riley's voice was obviously filled with one of Cliff's favorite things; sarcasm.

"I've got the car, now I need the girl." He grinned, tugging her towards where a bucket of soapy water and the hose lay, waiting. "Of course, I need money to take out the girl, but I need a shiny car to do that. Help."

He all but thrust a dripping sponge into her hands and then -finally- noticed Cliff. "Who's he? Is he your boyfriend? You didn't say anything about a boyfriend. Also, he's way to old for you."

"He's my cousin." Riley snorted, blasting water onto the dirty Camaro, which seemed to shiver. "Came from England to escape _The Road Trip of Doom." _

"Oh." Sam blinked and then grumbled as his mother yelled from inside. "Coming! Will you start!? Thanks!?"

Riley shook her head, dropping the hose into her cousin's hand. "You spray the rest and I'll get started on scrubbing."

Cliff turned away before letting an evil smirk cross his face. Riley bent to start scrubbing off the light coat of mud when a cold spray hit her from behind.

"Sorry." Cliff actually sounded apologetic. "I missed."

"Uh-huh." The brunette pulled an elastic off her wrist and pulls her hair into a messy bun. "Just wash the stupid car."

"Yes, Lee."

Sam came out twenty minutes later to find his car covered in soap bubbles and the cousins on the grass of his front lawn, soaked to the skin and panting.

"Oh, hey." Riley said weakly, her hand twitching. "We left the rest for you to do."

"Why are you so wet?" Sam stared at the two off them.

"I missed." Cliff shrugged, rolling onto his stomach and pushing himself up. "Lee, feed me ice cream."

"Good idea." Riley was hauled up and they scurried to the Challenger. "See ya later, Sammy."

Laughter spilled from the open windows of the red vehicle as it drove away, and Sam wondered what was so funny, until he rounded his new car. Written on the side in blue soap was 'I wet the bed.'

"Immature."

* * *

The lake was pretty busy by the time Riley and Cliff got there, still snickering. They set up a blanket under the shade of an unoccupied tree, about forty feet from the water. Their Diary Queen dinner was placed on the blanket and devoured as a large black truck carrying Mikaylea and Trent appeared, parking on the grass at the top of the rise where the parking lot sat.

The were joined seconds later by Trent's cronies. However, Mikaylea was alone as her boyfriend started a game of football.

Riley sighed, dragging herself up from the blanket. Cliff sent her a drowsy look, before shutting his eyes and throwing an arm over them.

"Yo, Mikalea." Riley waved as she strode up. The other teen's face morphed into one of relief, and she nearly strangled the life out of the tomboyish Riley with a hug.

"_Oh thank God_!" Mikaylea murmured, waving at Trent before dragging Riley towards the water. "Someone to swim with! Trent would never have paid any attention to me!"

"Uh, you're welcome." Riley stumbled over a rock and swore. Mikaylea stopped, apologized and then continued on.

"I'll race you to the dock?" The more popular girl asked, stopping at the end of the dock once they'd left their clothes with the sleeping Cliff.

"Ready, set..." Riley paused at the edge, and Mikaylea readied herself. The brunette leapt in, shouting go as she went.

Everything was going fine -she and Mikaylea hung out in the water for a while, she and Cliff wrestled, she and her cousin joined a game of football- until Sam and Miles showed up.

And insulted Trent. And his buddies. Which somehow ended up with Mikayela storming off.

And one of Trent's boys, Justin, attempted to hit on her as Sam abandoned Miles.

"You touch me and I will sever your balls from your body and strangle you with them." She deadpanned. Needless to say, Justin backed off pretty quick.

Quickly looking around, Riley spotted Miles talking with another of his friends, a slightly larger girl in his gym class, and Cliff, who was waiting by the car.

The brunette jogged over to Miles, and nudged him. "You need a ride home, or you good?"

"I'm gonna hang out with Kendra for a while." The blond shrugged, grinning at his friend. "You and your guy friend can head back."

"Cliff is my cousin." She grinned, meandering back to the Mustang.

"Let's go!" Cliff whined, tugging on the door.

"Alright. Alright. Don't get your panties in a bunch."


End file.
